Mold and sprue cutter for casting sinkers



o. E. VOlGT 2,515,915

MOLD AND SPRUE CUTTER FOR CASTING SINKERS July 18, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Oct. 25, 1945 0x42. 5 Vo/a'r INVENTOR.

ATTORNEYS July 18, 1950 o. E. VQIGT 2,515,915

MOLD AND SPRUE CUTTER FOR CASTING SINKERS Filed Oct. 25, 1945 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

ATTORNE Y5 Patented July 18 1950 MOLD AND SPRUE CUTTER FOR CASTDWG SINKERS Oscar E. Voigt, Galveston, Tex. Application October 23, 1945, Serial No. 624,073 1 Claim. (01. 22-150) This invention relates to the art of casting and is particularly concerned with the production of a sinker adapted to be positioned about a line or a rope and closed thereon so that weight is added to such line or rope, as for example, to reduce the buoyancy in certain devices such as fishing nets and the like.

. The primary object of the invention is to provide instrumentalities for, and the production of, annular sinker members of a configuration that will facilitate installation upon a line or rope to be weighted thereby.

It is also an object to cast such members in a manner that production is likewise facilitated.

A morespecific object is to provide a sinker member of annular form, but having one side thereof cut away so that it can be readily positioned upon a line or rope and closed to grip and remain in position thereon. i

The inventionalso comprehends a mold structure and technique that utilizes paired mold members having alignable cavities to form a chamber through which there passes a mandrel so that the casting chamber comprises an annulus about such mandrel.

7 Another object is to provide casting means including a riser member alignable with the gate in the mold and movable to shear the sprue when the cast material has solidified.

The foregoing objects are primary objects which, together with additional objects and advantages of the invention, will be more fully apparent from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. 1 is an end elevational view of a mold construction in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2 is a front elevational view taken on line 2-2 in Fig. 1; i i

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken substantially on line 3-3 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the device partlycut away to show the internal features of construction, and is taken on line 44 in Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the cast sinker of the invention;

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a plug which fills a portion of the casting cavity whereby a gap is provided so that the cast sinker can be readily positioned upon a rope or line with which it is to be used.

The embodiment of the invention as illustrated in Figs. 1 to 4 of the drawings includes a base I upon which is mounted a mold. 2 comprising an upstanding mold section 3 secured to the base and to which is hinged at 3 a second mold section t. These sections have a longitudinal bore or passage 5 into which extends a mandrel or core membe 6 having a handle I (Fig. 1) to be engaged by the hand so that the mandrel can be readily inserted into or withdrawn from the passage.

A single casting chamber may be provided within the member 2, but I prefer that a plurality of such chambers be provided. These chambers may be of a common size or of difi'erent sizes, but inasmuch as their constructions and configurations are the same, reference is made specifically to the single chamber ill shown in detail in Figs. 3 and 4 of which the latter shows a plan View of a sinker cast and located within the casting chamber. The lower sections 3 and 4- have paired cavities H and I2 having peripheral walls I3 of a suitable configuration and shown as generally spherical and through which the mandrel or core 6 extends diametrically.

It is to be noted that the passage 5 for the mandrel B in the cavities II and i2 forming the chamber ii) are so located that the upper portion of the chamber lies close to the upper surface l5 of the mold 2. A gate or opening ['6 leads from the surface [5 to the chamber and the length of this opening is made very short so that cutting of the sprue, as will be further described, leaves'a negligible projection on the cast sinker.

While an annulus or ring may be castabout the mandrel 5 in accordance with thedevice as thus far described and a portion of such annulus later removed so that the casting can be placed around a line or rope, both the casting operation and the use of the casting itself are facilitated'by providing means whereby a portion of the annulus remains uncast. This can be effected by providing an axial fin or flange on the mandrel 6, the passage 5 being configured to receive the mandrel with such fin thereon. Preferably, however, I provide a plug 20 (Figs. 3 and 6) which has a peripheral surface 2| and an inner surface 22 complementary respectively to the interiorof the cavity Ill and the periphery of the mandrel 6. An opening 24 in the plug 20 receives a screw 25 which secured the plug within the chamber [0. This plug is shown in Fig. 3 as subtending an angle or approximately deg. about the periphery of the mandrel 6. This provides a desirable gap 30 in the casting 3| as shown in Fig. 5, but it is to be understood that thi gap may be slightly larger or smaller without departing from the spirit of the invention.

The mold sections 3 and 4 have a transverse passage 32 through which the rod 33 extends and is pivoted at 34 in ears 35 on the outer wall of the section 4. The opposite end of the rod extends outwardly from the mold section 3 and has a compression spring 36 thereon whereby the mold sections are normally held in juxtaposed position ready for casting. Inasmuch as the mandrel fits within a through passage formed by complemental portions in the mold sections, separation of the mold sections may be effected by manipulation of the lever 31 and the mandrel 6 and the castings therein may be lifted from within the mold. The castings can then be :readily slid from their respective positions upon the mandrel.

Release of the handle 3'! permits the mold to return to closed position under the tension of the spring 36. within the passage preliminary to closure of the mold or may be slid axially into the passage after closure has been effected.

The mold section 3 has upstanding ears 40 which serve as stops for a riser member 4| having funnel shaped cavities 42 with openings 43 aligned with the gates 16 preliminary to pouring of casting metal into the cavities 16. A pivot bar 45 is secured to the end of the mold section 3 and carries a lever 46 having a stop ear 41 which limits movement of the lever under the influence of the spring 43 anchored to one of the ears 40. This lever has an abutment 49 engageable by the riser member 4| when the openings 43 are aligned with the gates iii in the mold.

In order to describe the operation of the device and further supplement the description and an understanding of the sinker of the invention, it will be assumed that the respective parts are in the relative positions shown in the drawings. The cars 40 and the abutment 49 locate the riser 4| in such position upon the surface [5 that a continuous passage is provided from the respective cavities 42 to the casting chambers 10. Casting material is then placed in the riser cavties whereby filling of the chambers IE takes place. Such casting material is preferably of a low melting point and high specific gravity, lead or alloys thereof being satisfactory, although it is to be understood that any suitable material may be used.

After the material has been cast and solidification thereof has taken place, the lever 46 is moved to the left as shown in Figs. 2 and 4 whereby the sprues are sheared and the riser may then be removed from the mold so that any residual material in the cavities 42 may be emptied therefrom preliminary to a succeedin casting operation.

The mold 2 may then be opened by manipulation of the lever 3'! whereupon the mandrel 6 and the castings thereon may be removed from the mold. As already indicated the castings are readily slidable from upon the mandrel which can be reinserted into the passage 5 ready for a subsequent casting operation.

The mandrel 6 may be repositioned It seems apparent that the sinker of the invention as best shown in Fig. 5, is of such configuration that it can be readily placed over a line or rope to be weighted thereby. Furthermore, once positioned upon such line or rope, the sinker can be closed thereon as by means of a suitable pressure applying tool or a small mallet may be used to efiectsuch closure. Under such circumstances the sinker, in cooperation with others positioned at intervals upon the line, will desirably and effectively overcome buoyancy whereby the primary purpose of the sinker is accomplished.

While specific constructions have been described, it is intended that the invention shall not be confined thereto as it broadly comprehends a sinker adapted to be positioned about and closed upon a line to be weighted thereby and as well, instrumentalities for rapidly and efiiciently producing such sinkers.

What is claimed is:

A casting device of the class described consisting of, a mold comprising co-operating mold sections having complementary cavities therein forming spaced chambers and a through passage when the sections are moved to mating relation, a mandrel extending into and filling said through passage thereby forming spaced annular casting chambers thereabout within the mold, gates in the upper portion of the mold leading to the casting chambers to admit casting material to said chambers, a riser member having pouring openings therein, a lever pivotally mounted upon the mold and movable to a limiting position thereon and engageable by the riser member in said limiting position to position the pouring openings over the gates of the mold, and spring means normally biasing the lever to its limiting position, whereby movement of the lever against the force exerted by the spring means causes sliding movement of the riser member and severs to sprues formed in the gates.

OSCAR E. VOIGT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 296,188 Erickson Oct. 9, 1883 295,262 Manula Mar. 18, 1884 300,263 Jenks June 10, 1884 399,866 Gage Mar. 19, 1889 517,205 Bailey Mar. 17, 1894 887,070 Custer May 12, 1908 1,166,703 Manula Jan. 4, 1916 1,422,108 Kukac July 11, 1922 1,763,977 McNeely June 17, 1930 1,981,103 Hanson Nov. 20, 1934 2,298,913 Arden Oct. 13, 1942 2,316,298 Strunk Apr. 13, 1943 

